Updates, advisories and surprises

(4:13 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Parlux Fragrances Inc.
PARL
after Friday's closing bell reported fiscal third-quarter net earnings of $17.9 million, or 98 cents a share, up from $6 million, or 28 cents a share in the year-ago period. The period ended Dec. 31 included a pretax gain of $34.2 million from the sale of the Perry Ellis fragrance brand. Loss from continuing operations was $5.46 million, compared with income of $1.5 million in the same period last year. Net sales in the quarter came in at $43.4 million, up 15% from $37.8 million in the same period of the prior year. Parlux is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Escalade quarterly profit falls

(11:24 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Escalade Inc.
ESCA, +2.97%
on Friday reported first-quarter net earnings of $1.1 million, or 8 cents a share, down from $1.72 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $33.5 million to $32.8 million. The Evansville, Ind.-based maker of sporting goods and office products said profitability was lower as a result of higher costs and lower income from European joint ventures. Escalade also named Chief Financial Officer Terry Frandsen as interim chief executive, following the death of CEO and President Daniel Messmer on April 9. Escalade shares rose 12 cents to $9.46 in Friday morning trade.

FCStone quarterly profit jumps; shares rise

(10:18 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- FCStone Group Inc. [s; fcsx] shares added 7.2% to $38.54 in Friday morning trade after the West Des Moines, Iowa-based commodity risk management firm reported fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $6.92 million, or 48 cents a share, up from $3.94 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $403.4 million from $268.9 million in the comparable period last year.

Retail shares open lower

(10:08 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Retail shares opened lower on Friday, led by weakness in Limited Brands Inc.
LTD, -4.37%
J.C. Penney Co.
JCP, -0.96%
and Gap Inc.
GPS, +1.54%
Limited, which operates the Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works and Express chains, saw its shares slip 1.3% after a downgrade by Soleil to hold from buy. On the upside, shares of Cutter & Buck Inc.
CBUK
rose more than 20% after the company agreed to be acquired by New Wave Group AB for $156.5 million. The S&P Retail Index
RLX, +0.00%
was down 3.4 points to 514.33.

Google, Monster gain as stocks open slightly higher

(9:37 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of larger Internet companies were trading higher Friday, with the Dow Jones Internet Index
DJI_DJINET
adding 1.2%, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index
$COMPQ
was off two points to 2,478. Monster Worldwide Inc.
MNST, -0.63%
shares added 3.5%, as analysts speculated that the elevation of Sal Iannuzzi to the chief executive spot late Thursday increases the likelihood that Monster will be put up for sale. Shares of Google Inc.
GOOG, -3.16%
were gaining ground after introducing its Checkout online payment system in Britain, which is the first overseas market for Google's competitor to eBay Inc.'s PayPal. Shares of eBay
EBAY, -0.87%
were trading 0.6% higher Friday. Among other stocks, Akamai Technologies Inc.
AKAM, -2.07%
shares gained nearly 1% after announcing the purchase of Red Swoosh, a maker of technology for peer-to-peer exchanges over the Internet. Shares of Yahoo Inc.
YHOO
were off 0.4% after media reports suggested its agreed to buy college sports network Rivals.com to boost its sports content, and that more newspapers are joining its advertising and content sharing consortium.

Semitool lowers second-quarter, full year revenue forecast

(8:17 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Semitool Inc.
SMTL
Friday said it now expects second-quarter revenue of $51 million to $53 million, below its prior projection for revenue of $55 million to $57 million. The Kalispell, Montana-based company said bookings dropped to $37.8 million for the March quarter from $50.9 million in the same period a year earlier. The maker of semidconductor capital equipment cited delays in anticipated orders, as purchasing postponements occurred in all its target markets. For the year, the company now sees revenue of $210 million to $230 million. Its previous forecast was for revenue of $260 million to $310 million. Shares closed Thursday at $12.99.

Midwest Air board rejects AirTran offer and sees wider loss

(8:13 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Midwest Air Group Inc.
MEH, +0.57%
rejected a higher takeover offer from Air Tran Holdings Inc.
AAI, +0.00%
and urged its stockholders not to tender their shares. Midwest, of Milwaukee, said its advisor, Goldman Sachs & Co., found the offer financially inadequate. Midwest, operator of Midwest Air, also said it expects to report a wider first-quarter loss than the same period a year ago. It forecast adjusted earnings for 2007 at $1.30 to $1.50 a share.

GE posts in-line results and sales of $40.2 billion

(6:41 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - General Electric Co. said Friday its first-quarter net income rose 2% to $4.51 billion, or 44 cents a share, up from $4.44 billion, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 6% to $40.2 billion from $38.03 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast earnings, on average, of 44 cents a share and revenue of $39.82 billion. GE forecast second-quarter earnings of 52 cents to 54 cents a share and affirmed its 2007 earnings outlook of $2.18 to $2.23 a share. The Fairfield, Conn.-based GE is a financial services giant and diversified industrial manufacturer, making a variety of products from jet engines to medical devices, and operates entertainment arm NBC Universal. ""GE Money's earnings were tempered by challenges at its U.S. mortgage business (WMC), and [GE] Healthcare had a temporary regulatory suspension on shipments of its surgical supplies that affected their performance," said CEO Jeff Immelt. But those businesses are expected to rebound during 2007, he added.

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